Africa Open - Institute for Music, Research and Innovation, in association with the Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS, a Music Special Collections division of the SU Library and Information Service), celebrated Anton Goosen's 70th birthday with a relaxing evening of conversation and music on Monday (14 November). Guests also had the chance to view a display of his archive, donated to DOMUS in 2012 – containing scrapbooks, sheet music and notes spanning his career. Goosen turned 70 in March this year.

"Anton's archives spans and captures tumultuous times in South Africa's history," said Stephanie Vos, a post-doctoral fellow at Africa Open. "It shows how his music and work was occupied with the pressing matters of the moment. What strikes me about his music, is that it puts a finger on the taboos of the day. It's not just the lyrics that pushes the envelope, but the musical style itself. His music refuses to recognise the boundaries that circumscribes 'proper' Afrikaans. In the days that rock music was frowned upon, Anton's music pioneered Afrikaans rock."

Anton Goosen discussed anecdotes and highlights and of his career and the development of his music with Schalk van der Merwe (bass player of Bed on Bricks and lecturer in History) and Peter Pearlson, a famed recording engineer and Goosen's longtime collaborator.

Anton Goosen in conversation with Schalk van der Merwe.

"I was booked to do an album, and I already knew his name and records. I was aware it was quite a big deal," said Pearlson, when asked about how he first met Anton. "I got booked to do the 'Liedjieboer in the city' album, which ended up being a stunning record. The first time I met Anton he came hobbling into the studio on crutches with his leg in a cast, and he said 'I was chasing a chicken on the farm and fell over a wall and broke my leg'. We had to do all the vocals with him sitting down. Two years later, he calls me and says 'do you want to make another record?'."

Among other things, Van der Merwe asked Anton to give his view on Afrikaans music today.

"There's a lot of stuff I like, a lot of stuff I do not like," he said. "But there's light on the horizon. There are terrific artists in this country, in Afrikaans. You should hear Zolani from Freshlyground sing, in Afrikaans. David Kramer sings perfect Afrikaans. Then there's Piet Botha, Gian Groen, Jan Blom, all the other talent – too many to name."

After the discussion, Anton and Schalk Joubert entertained the audience with hits such as 'Moya', 'Josie', ' 'n Brief vir Simone' and 'Geelperske Reën'.

Anton Goosen and Schalk Joubert plays guitar.

The event was organised by the Interdisciplinary Forum for Popular Music, a project of Africa Open which was established in June this year.

"Africa Open is a unique initiative," said Prof Stephanus Muller, who started DOMUS in 2005 and also drove the establishment of Africa Open. "We are very excited to create a research institution that's linked to an archive. This archive isn't limited to one type of music. It includes everything, and we want to allow composers, artists and researchers to talk to one another and see what interesting things can happen when they're not bound to rules of what they can and cannot study. We want to involve artists like Anton in the conversations we have, and see how it changes the way we view South African music. "

In December 2015, Africa Open received funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch a series of projects entitled 'Delinking Encounters'. The Interdisciplinary Forum for Popular Music is one of these projects.

"The forum will bring together a broader community of people working in the popular music industry," said Vos. "The event celebrating Anton Goosen's 70th birthday is one of our first events. It introduces the Forum and shows some of its key objectives in action: to involve musicians themselves in conversations, to listen to their music, and to create an awareness of the fascinating archive material available to researchers and to the public."